1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for handling cards, and here specifically to a method and an apparatus for providing a card carrier for combining, or bringing together, with such a card, in particular a plastic card.
2. Description of Prior Art
Known systems for handling plastic cards operate such that the plastic cards, e.g. thick plastic cards of the CR-80 type, are automatically joined with (applied to) card carriers in variable numbers of items. The card carriers provided with plastic cards are subsequently packed into envelopes at an enveloping station or are folded and sealed and subsequently supplied to further processing. In addition, the card carriers may be associated with any supplements which are then jointly enveloped or folded. The prior art has known various methods and apparatus for applying plastic cards and card carriers. Methods and apparatus for bringing together and joining plastic cards and card carriers using a print job number have been known from DE 195 08 282 C1 and DE 195 33 444 A1. According to these documents, after the step of bringing together and joining, the plastic carriers are inserted into envelopes and supplied to further processing. A similar method, wherein the bringing together and joining of plastic cards and card carriers is verified using a checksum has been known from DE 197 25 579 A1. A method and apparatus for bringing together and joining plastic cards and card carriers using a job number, the processing being effected off-line, has been known from DE 197 34 483 A1. The above-mentioned known methods are about joining card carriers and plastic cards, the plastic cards having a magnetic strip or another memory unit that may be read out by a reader, so as to store specific data of the plastic card or specific data of a holder of the plastic card.
In all of the above-described apparatus and methods, a prepared card-carrier blank, or pre-printed form, is provided which will then be filled, either off-line or on-line, with the data required, e.g. an address or the text of the letter, whereby the card-carrier blank becomes the card carrier.
The procedure underlying the above-described known methods will be described in more detail below by means of an on-line system using the diagrammatic representation of a conventional apparatus in FIG. 4.
The conventional system diagrammatically shown in FIG. 4 has, in its entirety, been given reference numeral 400. System 400 includes a card hopper 402 holding one or several plastic cards. A reader 404 successively receives the plastic cards (not shown in FIG. 4) from card hopper 402 and reads out card data stored in the memory element of the plastic card, e.g. in the magnetic strip or in another chip. System 400 further includes a data-processor 406, e.g. in the form of a computer, which also contains a database. In addition, system 400 includes a printer 408 creating the card carriers for the plastic cards. The printed card carriers are provided to an applicator 412 via a card-carrier buffer 410. The applicator 412 further receives the plastic cards to be applied from a card buffer 414 and outputs them to other handling stations of the system (not shown in FIG. 4) for further processing.
The mode of operation of the system shown in FIG. 4 is such that the card data read out by the reader 404 are output to the data-processor 406, as is indicated by arrow 416. In the data-processor 406, the database is accessed utilizing the card data received, so as to read out the print data required for producing the card carrier. These read-out print data are then provided to printer 408, as is indicated by arrow 418. Printer 408 receives the print data and produces the card carrier associated with the plastic card.
As the starting material, printer 408 receives card-carrier blanks already containing, e.g., the letterhead and additional, unvarying information about the issuer of the plastic card. If card-carrier blanks are received, the text required for personalizing the card-carrier blank, e.g. the address and the letter text, is printed in printer 408 on the basis of the data received from the database. The card carriers thus produced are then provided to buffer 410, as is indicated by arrow 420. In addition to the text information, an identification mark identifying the card carrier is also printed onto the blank in printer 408, this identification mark enabling subsequent matching in the applicator 412.
The card carriers are provided from buffer 410 to applicator 412, as is indicated by arrow 422. Prior to joining card carrier and plastic card, another reading operation is performed in the applicator 412 by reading out, from the card carrier provided, the identification mark printed there, and by comparing it with the card data of a plastic card to be joined with the applicator, the comparison being effected in processor 406. If a match between the identification mark and the card data is ascertained, i.e. if a determination is made that the card carrier and the plastic card belong together, the applicator 412 is controlled to join the card carrier and the plastic card and to subject them to further processing in the system, as is indicated by arrow 424. If a determination is made that the plastic card and the card carrier do not match, both the plastic card and the card carrier are discarded from system 400.
The plastic cards mentioned in FIG. 4 are plastic cards which are sent by mail and include credit cards, medical insurance cards, driving licenses and identity cards, loyalty cards, such as Miles & More etc. The known system described in FIG. 4 prepares the plastic cards for shipment, this being done either by the respective issuers of the cards themselves or by respective service companies having been given corresponding instructions by the issuers of the cards.
The on-line system described in FIG. 4 is supplied with plastic cards which have been personalized and encoded in advance. The information required is also stored in a database.
The card-carrier blank stacks are applied to the card shipment system 400, and the system is started. While each card is read, the printing of the card carrier belonging to the card is triggered. In the subsequent processing, a check is made, as described above, on the basis of the identification mark and the card data of the plastic card, as to whether the card carrier and the card belong together. Subsequently, the card is fixed onto the card carrier in applicator 412. Then the card carrier with the card may be folded and inserted into an envelope along with supplements.
Rather than applying only one card, it is also possible to apply several cards to one card carrier.
A conventional system operating on-line has been described with regard to FIG. 4. This means that the printer is disposed within the system and produces the card carriers while the plastic cards are being processed. Alternatively, there are also off-line systems wherein the printer is not integrated into the system. Here, the card carrier, the letter and the cards are personalized and encoded independently of one another. The information required is taken from a database. Subsequently, the two stacks, i.e. the personalized card carriers and the plastic cards, are positioned and processed in the order of personalization in the card shipment system 400. Here, too, a check is performed as to whether the card carrier and the card belong together, with cards and card carriers that belong together being joined, and the card carriers subsequently being folded, together with the cards, and inserted into envelopes with any supplements desired. Here, too, several cards may be applied to one card carrier.
The above-described addition of supplements is optional.
The disadvantage of the above-described systems known in the prior art is that they work with prepared card carriers (off-line systems) that must be pre-sorted in the same order as the plastic cards and must be provided to the card shipment system. With on-line systems, the disadvantage is that they only operate with pre-fabricated card-carrier blanks which, in turn, have to be provided to the system in accordance with the sequence of the plastic cards. In other words it is necessary here, too, e.g. when processing plastic cards by different issuers, to sort the card-carrier blanks associated with the different issuers in accordance with the sequence of the plastic cards positioned.
This leads to a low level of flexibility for the entire system and to a very high susceptibility to errors, since as little as one single error, or defect, upsets the sequence, which leads to misapplications or to a removal of a card and carrier from the system. In addition, such conventional systems are very time-consuming and costly, since great care must be taken when inserting the card carriers or providing them to the system. In addition visual control is indispensable after applying the cards onto the card carrier, so as to ensure that the cards of an issuer are actually shipped on the card-carrier blanks associated with that issuer.
In summary it may be stated that the disadvantage of the card shipment systems employed today is that they are unreliable, very time-consuming and thus also very expensive, in particular for shipments of small or minimal amounts. Even though small and minimal amounts have been mentioned above, it shall be pointed out that similar problems also arise with large amounts.
Due to the above-mentioned problems, the realization of conventional card shipment systems entails a reduction of the processing performance as compared with the performance which is possible in theory and is achievable if no errors occur.